Returning
by Djingin
Summary: Events of Bruces past seem to replay themselves with his newest prodigy. Set in Batman Beyond, past focuses on Batman Returns storyline. OC as well as violence.
1. Chapter 1

Billy was in a room he was very unfamiliar with; which was unusual because where ever he intended to go he always made sure he'd researched it first. Nothing could catch him out and no one could get the upper hand, however this time someone had caught him out. He couldn't move and he couldn't see and a sharp thin wire cut into his wrists and ankles whenever he tried to move. His eyes were open wide, there was no blindfold or tape over his eyes however the room was so dark that it felt like a drape of velvet had been put all around him,

"H-hello?" His voice was dry, "I ain't the only one in here, I know that much!" His bark didn't help him feel better and the shivering creep of fear only settled more solidly. A dull tap of boot cladded feet sounded from his words,

"No you're not Billy" he sucked in a breath at the unexpected voice and he felt unable to respond with his usual wit, "What's wrong Billy... I hear you're usually the one with the last word"

"Heh… who told you that then" the words were weak, he knew the situation he was probably in; but hell if he wasn't going out before knowing who's ass he could curse.

"A woman… by the name of Ethel Manson, she wanted you to know this was her doing" the footsteps got closer, circling slowly and with wide birth,

"Damn broad! I don't even know who she is!" Billy yelled, "Whatever she's tellin' you it's all bull crap!" He fisted his hands and yanked fruitlessly at the bindings; he wasn't getting thrown in the sewers because of some woman. The sudden motion in front of him froze him instantly his eyes gaping into the blackness.

"No, I have to agree with you there. But you do know her sister – or did" The figure in front of him didn't move but he could tell the proximity between them was close and now he could tell the stranger wore a helmet of some kind; the barest of light reflecting off it and showing his pitiful pale face.

"I know lots of broads, am a ladies man what can I say…" his quip held no confidence,

"I'm sure… your three work friends said the same…"

"Wha-what" he gulped,

"I'm sure every woman wants four men raping her…. Lucy killed herself because of you so called ladies men… I'm simply returning the favour…" Billy had no time to reply before he felt the brush of something slip over his head and around his neck and his head hit the floor.

The walls of Wayne Manor hid many secrets and stories that most people could only have imagined in their daily routine. Secrets of masked identities, deaths and romances and those very dark secrets that intertwined the collection. Those stories that were close to Bruce's heart, in their morals or burning memories were shown on display in the deepest realms of his home.

Viewing these nostalgic items had become a ritual thing for Bruce in his old age, it kept the memories alive. Being the mature man he was he couldn't go gallivanting off into the night in leather and rubber like he used to, those nights were kept within the costumes, weapons and reams of newspaper cuttings that now adorned a sanctum in the caves. The nightlife action was now spent on his new prodigy, Terry McGuiness who so far had proven himself as a worthy successor.

Bringing his tumbler of whiskey to his lips his eyes stopped at the curves of a shiny PVC costume, threads now fraying in areas where the designer had been a little careless. Selina Kyle, at least that was her name to those dear to who, what little there had been from the conversations Bruce had had with her. In the nocturnal hours she had taken more seductive heirs – Catwoman. She had been insane of course, Bruce sipped at the whiskey, but it had been through mistreatment not by her own hand.

Bruce knew that on their final meeting in the sewers she had not died, her body had never been discovered and a day later the costume had been delivered to him from an unknown address. His relationship with her had been strong, someone he had been able to have proper conversation with, the entrepreneur he was most people wanted to talk about stocks and shares and not actual problems. For those weeks after the death of The Penguin and Shreck, Bruce had missed Selina, both the woman and the feline.

The last bit of whiskey was emptied from the tumbler as Bruce took a final look at the remnants of a friend long lost. He gazed around his room of memories once more before returning to the stairs and turning off the light.

Once again a crowded train was what greeted Terry at first light, people all going their own routes and none of them interested in the other stood right next to them. Terry turned his music on, an attempt to drown out the noise of those around him. The weather was what you'd expect for winter, but today had begun the first snowfall. Terry watched the snow fleet by the train like lights, the warmth of huddled bodies becoming all to comforting as he dreaded stepping back out into the open air.

He gazed at his phone as the train gently sped along, awaiting Bruce's predictable morning call and recitation of the jobs he needed to do. However it had been ten minutes past the time that the old man usually rang. Just as he began to worry the phone rang, a couple of women raised their eyebrows in his direction as he clicked to accept,

"Hey" Terry spoke into the phone,

"You sound awake" the familiar voice responded sarcastically, Terry smirked,

"Something like that" Terry responded, "What jobs have I got today?"

"Not much, you can walk Ace once you've finished college, he needs a long run" Terry heard the flicking of papers in the background,

"Right, anything else?" The train grew to a stop and Terry slung his bag on his back and exited the train,

"No, unless I give the maid a day off?" Terry grinned at Bruce's attempt of humour,

"No thanks…" Terry caught sight of the blocks to the college, five minutes and he'd be there, a pause

"If you're waiting for any criminal activity then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed"

"I know, it's so dead" Terry frowned,

"Although I like to see the city free from its problems, it's December soon. The closer to Christmas the more crime is rife" Bruce sighed, pages fluttered again,

"True… don't I get holiday pay or something?" Terry grinned,

"No"

"I was kidding. Anyway I got to go. At college"

"Right, Bye"

"Speak to you later" Terry ended the call and returned it to the confines of his coat pocket. He looked up the steps to the entrance to Hamilton Hill High School; he really wasn't in the mood today.


	2. Chapter 2

The first period of the day had seen Terry produce very little than a couple of lines that the tutor had recited to the class and a few doodles the depicted nothing in particular. The fact that he had nothing to look forward to had slowed his day down to a snails pace. He didn't mind doing a few of Mr Wayne's chores if it meant that he could fight crime during the midnight hours, but lately crime had been at a low and so had his mood. Taking Ace for a walk wasn't much of a highlight of the day. Dana stared at Terry as he pushed a pea from side to side on his plate devoid from what else was going on in the cafeteria, he was unusually quiet today. The recent employment to Mr Wayne had seen her Terry looking increasingly lacking energy everyday and their time together was also becoming an issue,

"So, what's Mr Wayne got you doing today?" Dana questioned, feeling sympathy for the pea. Terry looked up at the unexpected question,

"Err… He just wants me to take his dog for a walk, think he wants to be by himself today"

"No late night errands?" Dana leaned her elbows on the table, looking hopeful,

"No, don't think so"

"Well, you want to go out tonight?" She smiled,

"Maybe" Terry responded with little enthusiasm,

"Maybe? Terry it's a simple question" Dana sat up, frowning at Terry's ambiguity,

"I don't know if something will come up" Terry replied,

"But if you have plans prior then surely he can just wait" She huffed,

"It's difficult" Terry replied, what else could he say?

"You always say that…"

"I'm sorry Dana… hey its getting to Christmas, there's bound to be some events coming up that we can go to. This job it's just a bit more… in-depth than I expected" Terry smiled apologetically at Dana, he knew how much this job had effected their relationship,

"You don't have to tell me twice… okay Terry, just promise me that we will start doing more together again, you've really changed these past few months" Dana put a hand over Terry's and squeezed, he smiled.

Maxine peered over Terry's shoulder as they copied notes from the projector screens,

"You know, I don't think doodles will get you passed this semester" She chuckled, nudging Terry's shoulder.

"Keeps me entertained though" Terry replied.

"What's wrong Terry, Dana told me that you were zoning out all morning" she frowned,

"There's nothing happening Max, Gothams totally crime free lately. I don't know if I should be suspicious or jumping for joy. Either way Batman's been out of action for over a week" Terry slumped back in his seat, getting an eye from a rather round tutor that sat marking papers at his desk.

"Oh, catching up on your sleep then?" Maxine smiled, Terry raised an eyebrow, "come on Terry stop sulking, the one time when your wish for peace comes true and you're moaning that you're bored. Dana's been dying to spend some time with you and you know that you want to as well, enjoy it while you can" Max sucked at the end of her pen, noticing the tutors attention lingering on them,

"'Spose your right" Terry mumbled,

"You know I'm right" Max smiled, "Now get on with some work Mr beady eyes down there looks like he'd ready to write our detention slips"

As class finished the students filed out of the classroom, luckily Terry and Max had gotten away without receiving detentions. Terry felt a lot better after Maxine's reasoning, after walking Ace he'd ring Dana to arrange to meet her – better late than never. As they entered into the busy corridors the sound or arguing coming from the principles office was attracting attention.

"What the heck's going off in there?" Maxine frowned, "come on lets look!" She hooked her hand around Terry's arm before he could even respond. Just as they arrived to the scene of the commotion the principles door swung open and a young girl appearing from it,

"Equality my ass!!" she fumed,

"Young Lady, I can ring the police to escort you out if you insist on being so rude!" The principle replied, red faced with a mixture of anger and embarrassment,

"No need, I have this lovely crowd of people to escort me" The girl spread her arms to emphasise, "Your walls must be thinner than that thick skull of yours. This is what public funding buys you?!"

"Get out of my school!" The Principle yelled,

"Oh such politeness" The girl sneered and pushed past the first layer of confused students, the principles office door slamming behind her.

"Wooah… ok, what just happened?" Maxine's mouth gaped as she stared in the direction of the girls exit; Terry raised an eyebrow at his friend's expression,

"Max you're dribbling" he remarked, receiving a pout,

"Oh shut up, come on, don't you want to know what just happened?" Both started walking to the exit, Maxine hugging her books,

"No and neither do you, come on I don't want to miss the train" Terry slung his bag over his shoulder, the weight of cumbersome texts digging into his back. The majority of the students from Hillside High used the trains to get back home from college. Most of the parents still busy at work or living to far away from the school to pick them up. Today was no different and as Terry and Max arrived at the train shelter, the rail bars soaring into the sky were slick with melted snow.

"You catching the train?" Terry asked, Max shook her head,

"Think I might go to the arcades for a bit, got some spare credits to spend" She folded her arms and shivered slightly, the cold getting to her. As she was about to speak again something caught Max's attention, "heey it's that girl from earlier" she pointed a finger to the other side of the shelter. Terry turned his head to see a blonde haired girl leaning against the shelter wall, looking at the ground. The sound of screeching rails echoed in the distance, "Your rides here" Maxine smiled and waved, "See you later Terry"

"If you see Dana tell her I'll ring her" Terry waved as Max walked off, receiving a nod before she disappeared round a corner. Terry waited for the majority of the rush to filter into the train; crowds had never really been an attraction to him. Snow had started to descend once again, the lowering temperature of the evening bringing with it the feathery ice and making everything seem that bit more beautiful. If skyscrapers and metal could be considered attractive in the first place. Although the crowd of passengers had originally looked fit to burst the train when Terry entered there were still a couple of seats unoccupied, he decided on a seat further to the back where it was quieter.

As he sat he noticed the passenger opposite him was the girl from earlier, he couldn't help but stare for a moment. She still looked annoyed by the events of earlier, her arms folded and a frown deep and harsh upon her face. Terry didn't think she was from Gotham, well she very well could have been by her attitude but something told him she wasn't. He watched her glare at nothing in particular, her pale blue eyes emphasising her piercing stare. Her hair was blonde, almost white in the lights of the train and competed with her skin for paleness. She wore what could mainly be considered not of Gotham apparel for teenagers and almost bordering on what the Jokerz gang might wear. Although the thought of them being seen in daylight was just as believable as Terry actually finishing his homework.

Terry blinked out of his daydream to see the same girl staring back at him,

"See something you like?" She raised an eyebrow,

"Err… no, no! I mean… sorry" He laughed nervously and leant back against the seat, "Must have zoned out"

"You must have" She replied sarcastically. There was a pause but the girl continued to look at him,

"I… saw you at Hillside" He remarked, not knowing why the words passed his lips in the first place,

"Oh really" she sat back, "I suppose you were at the back of the crowd" She crossed one leg over the other, the belts on the biker boots she wore clinking at the movement,

"Yeah, it was more a friend's curiosity than mine" He replied,

"Sure" She smiled, "I guess you want to know what was up?" She leaned forward again and raised and eyebrow – her hair fell over the left side of her face,

"Talking helps sometimes" Terry replied, looking to the side to stop the eye contact which was getting a bit to intimidating,

"I'm not a terrible person you know" The girl commented, pulling at a fishnet glove, "That principle of yours just said the wrong thing"

"What would that be?"

"Can't attend this school if no guardian or parent is present" She sneered, "I mean I'm seventeen, don't you think by now I could make my own decisions?"

"I never thought that was a problem" Terry replied, trying not to get in an argument,

"Do you have parents?" She questioned,

"Err, yeah"

"There you go then… guess I'll just have to look elsewhere" The train slowed to a halt and more passengers got on while others departed, those that had been sitting near the two teens had now left and the train felt a little bigger. Terry heard a familiar tune coming from his pocket; he took out his phone and noticed one message in his inbox, voicemail,

"The folks?" Terry looked up to see the girl looking at him, he shook his head, "My mom doesn't leave voicemails she ends up rambling" The girl smiled, "You said you didn't have any parents?" The smile disappeared,

"Yeah"

"You a runaway or something" Terry was waiting for a slap, curiosity killed the cat,

"I wish I was, well I guess I kind of am. Ma's a loony, Pa was a one night stand and my Nana's off somewhere in Europe. I got tired of the foster system so I just took off - not like they're going to look for me" a strand of hair had been lazily wound round her finger as she drifted through memories, she looked up at Terry "I really shouldn't be telling a stranger all this, you might report me" Terry blinked,

"Nah, don't worry, wish I could just bolt like that sometimes" The girls shoulders twitched with a half-hearted laugh, "So what's your name?"

"Wooow getting a bit intimate now aren't we?" the girl giggled, "Phoebe Kyle"


	3. Chapter 3

The conversation had continued from there, Terry had found out that Phoebe was in fact from Winchester; however her family was originally from Gotham.

"I'm trying to find a place for myself here, y'know? Have a go at living properly" Phoebe gazed at her outstretched feet, thinking about other things, "Plus my Nana used to say there was some pretty good nightlife here, anything better than plain old Winchester",

"So your Nana lived here?" Terry was beginning to become more and more fascinated with this girl, she was so unlike other people in Gotham. Her eyes reminded him of Melanie however and a subconscious feeling of wariness crept over him. Would this girl be like her? Bruce had told him that relationships within his particular line of work would never work, or if they did, would be strained from the beginning. He was already beginning to see that with Dana, before he became Batman he could almost see a future with her, now it was gradually beginning to fray at the edges.

"Yeah!" Phoebe snapped Terry from his musings, "My Nana lived in Gotham... all her life I think" the girl scratched at the back of her head messing up the loose short curls "Then a guy broke her heart... or didn't turn out to be the guy she thought he was... either way something bad happened and she moved away"

"You think you have family here then?" Terry was genuinely intrigued, old Gotham seemed such a long time ago, the weapons and costumes that Mr Wayne kept were merely relics from that time which suggested a much bigger picture. There were very few places of history in Gotham; it was like it had been purposefully forgotten about. Plus very few people tended to talk about their ancestors; it was always the here and now.

"Possibly" Phoebe tilted her head and removed her eyes from Terry's gaze, "I guess there's no harm in looking" She gazed out the window; Terry noticed the change in behaviour, the sudden loss of eye contact. Bruce had told him about some signs of deception if he should ever have the need to interrogate someone. Right now he could tell that Phoebe was hiding things, however from the brief history of her family, it was more than likely things were being hidden.

"Well Mr Detective this is my stop!" Phoebe stretched from her seat, eyeing Terry with a cheeky smile, Terry smiled back trying to ignore the exposure of navel as the tucked in white shirt stretched against pale pink skin, he failed miserably. He felt the train grind to a stop and found that steadying himself was a great distraction,

"By the way Mr Detective, I never got your name" Phoebe leaned over and eyed him with big blue iris's,

"Oh, it's Terry" He watched her grin widen and couldn't help but smile back,

"Well, thanks Terry, you cheered me up y'know" She moved to stand at his side as the door opened in one swift motion, "See you around Terry" With that she hopped of the train.

He watched the doors close after her before slumping back into the hard seat, sighing as his mind raced through his meeting with Phoebe. He hoped he would see her around, although definitely not at school if the earlier uproar was anything to go by. She was a weird girl, but that was kind of the norm with some of the characters around Gotham. He imagined she'd fit in fine. Terry's stop wasn't for another ten minutes or so, he daydreamed about non important things, Dana popped into his head after a few minutes and he regretted not saying yes to going out.

Terry shifted his weight and leant over so his elbows were resting on his knees and took out his phone, he noticed a message indicating a missed phone call from Max and remembered not noticing it earlier,

"Hey Terry, I guess its bad signal on the trains. I just caught up with Dana and she's not cooled off about earlier, if you ring her don't expect to be showered with love or anything like that. Also she's going to Scream tonight with some of the others, maybe you can patch things up and come along. See you later Terry!" the voicemail beeped off and he closed the phone, he wasn't surprised that Dana was angry and he knew that blowing her off at nearly each chance they had together wasn't fair on her. He bit his lip in frustration, why did trying to make Gotham a better place have to make his life so awkward and hurt the ones he loved.

Feeling stressed he dragged a hand through his dark hair and slumped his head to look to the ground. He'd wait a while before he rang Dana, he was so desperate to tell her about what he really did, but would that help things? Even if he did reveal himself to her it wouldn't change things, he would still have to disappear into the night if trouble arose. In a sharp burst he sat back against the seat, his head fell back and bumped against the glass window and he sighed raggedly, did either of them love the other enough to keep this up? And how long would that love last if Terry stayed as Batman for the rest of his life like Bruce Wayne?

Terry lazily got up from his seat, noticing the as the cityscape changed from that of skyscrapers to residential blocks signalling his stop. He slung his back over his shoulder and leaned against the wall nearest to the door as the train came to a stop. He allowed the few people left on the train to get off before he stepped off himself. The wind had picked up since he'd first set off and icy tendrils nipped at his skin as he wrapped his coat tighter to his body as he set off up the route to Bruce Wayne's Manor.

Phoebe watched as the train carried on its way, taking with it the curious man named Terry, she pouted at the lack of a last name and the possibility to snoop. This hadn't been her stop, she'd never had a stop in the first place however the amount of questions Terry had been asking had set her on edge and delicious men had a tendency to get far more out of her than she ever planned to tell them. She looked about as she walked away from the platform; the area looked lower than working class, scummy as her Nana would say and the architecture wasn't as modern as the area she had just come from.

She heard men shouting in the distance and sped up pace the wind biting her cheeks as it hurtled through the narrow streets. A group of guy's cat called at her as she passed by, she sneered and hid her face behind short ringlets. Her Ma had always told her that men were idiots, only good for one thing and then to be shortly disposed of. Her Nana had been the same, hurt so many times that it sent her mad or so her Ma told her. She had never really believed everything they had said, but sometimes the men she came across made her question her hesitancy. Her family as far back as she knew were purely females, the men long gone out the picture for whatever reason, the Kyle family was a group of temperamental women with an axe to grind. And she was one of them.

The satchel bag she carried bashed against her left leg even more violently as she heard the cat calls change to tones of annoyance that she'd ignored them.

"Dammit I need a hotel" she hissed and quickly darted from the view of the men behind her. Her heart was beating against her ribs like it would break, but suddenly plummeted to her toes as a shadow rounded the corner and darkened the wall she leant against,

"Hey Blondie, why you running off?" The tall man spoke smooth and it made her feel sick. Her eyes widened as she saw the gaudy paint that stained his face as well as his 'lackeys' as they surrounded her.

"B-busy" she mumbled, the words felt too far away, the tall man laughed and shelled his ear leaning in,

"Can't hear you Blondie" the other painted gang members laughed, Phoebe scowled and snapped her eyes up to the bad smelling man,

"Busy! Can't you weirdo's keep to your own business or do your dicks control everything you do!" she panted, adrenaline sweeping her up as the group gaped wide mouthed at the sudden spunk from the little lady. The leader glared he obviously wouldn't let a woman ruin his reputation,

"So!" he grabbed Phoebe's arm, fingers digging in "Little Blondie has a little fight in her, we love girls who can have fun" he grinned a toothy smile, the red lip stick stretching in an ugly smear. The lackeys laughed as he looked back at them, Phoebe bit her lip and cursed at herself for trying to act tough,

"Why don't we go take her somewhere we can have a real laugh" the rest of them joined in as the leader burst into laughter once more, Phoebe felt his grip become tighter, "Us Jokerz know how to have a good time Blondie" the man slid his hand down to her thigh, smirking as he noticed Phoebe shiver. She felt ill as she heard snickering behind him,

"Hey, y- you don't think Batman will c-come do you?" Quiet befell the group as the leader turned to one of the weedier members of the group, Phoebe stared in fascination at the name,

"What? Seriously you think he'll come for a slut like this?" the leader snarled, annoyed at the interruption

"Yeah, but, he's like everywhere now" the skinny clown looked to the others for support, some nodded,

"The Bat freak is just a nut job in a suit, you're a twat just for thinking he's anything else!" the leaders grip loosened slightly as his attention wavered, Phoebe took the opportunity. She slipped from the man's grasp, swinging her satchel bag viciously at his face in the process. The hit sent the man flying; she smirked as the others stared in surprise,

"Fucking men" she glared at the others, who were obviously much weaker than the leader. "I don't need to be saved by some 'Batman'" Her adrenaline sung as she watched with pride as the gang stared like zombies.

"You will after I'm finished with you Bitch!" Phoebe let out an accidental squeak as the leader stumbled onto his feet. She let instinct lead her this time and sprang into a run for her life.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: This story has been on a bit of a haitus... primarily as i'm so sporadic with when i decided to update. Anywho - a bout of creativity ended up with me both writing this chapter and also drawing Phoebe. You can view it on my DeviantArt account here: #/d5sdaz7. Enjoy!_

The sky was turning a blood red against the white of the snow and yellowing cloud as Terry arrived at Wayne Manor; the building imposing as ever. Terry had tried calling Dana on his walk from the train stop but to his annoyance there had been no response; hopefully she'd just spent more time in the gym than usual, imagining one very unfortunate punching bag to be Terry's face. As he made his way up to the large front door he noticed the daily paper and post had been left uncollected wedged into the letter box,

"I guess he really did give the maid a day off" he mumbled as he pulled the thick paper and envelopes out of the grip of the letter box. The warm confines of Wayne Manor greeted Terry as he entered the main reception area; the mansion carried with it the scent of dust, old alcohol and furniture which Terry could never get used to.

"Mr Wayne!" Terry's voice echoed through the sparsely furnished entrance hall of the manor. He grinned and quickly knelt down as he heard the clicking of Ace's clawed paws galloping on the tiled floor,

"Hey Ace!" He welcomed the Great Dane with a tight hug and rough stroke, "Where's your layabout owner then?"

"I heard that" Terry reddened as he saw the shadowed form of Bruce coming out of the concealed entrance of the Bat Cave,

"Heh, sorry" He gave Ace a final pat as he rose back to standing, "You been down there all day?" He questioned, noticing Bruce looking paler than usual, "Have you eaten?"

"Now you really are starting to sound like the Maid" Bruce replied gruffly to the questioning, bringing a scowl to Terry's face,

"Well I' am meant to be looking after you, at least that's what you tell me to say to everyone else. Little gratitude wouldn't go far" He absently scratched at Ace's scalp, the dog sitting obediently waiting for his walk,

"Bad day?" Bruce questioned as he moved to sit on a nearby couch, Terry could see something definitely different in the old man,

"I could say the same about you, something come up?" Ace whined and leaned against Terry's leg and Bruce motioned towards the door,

"I'll tell you when you get back" Bruce paused, "I need to do some more research… and Ace needs a stretch. Go on, I'll be downstairs when you get back" He carefully raised himself using his cane for balance and headed once more to the concealed entrance which had been left ajar.

"Yeah sure…. C'mon Ace" Terry patted the dogs sturdy side and headed out the door once more with Ace happily barking along by his side.

Phoebe's heart was still a flurry of anger and adrenaline; she'd let her panic get the better of her and she'd fled,

"What're you doing!? You could have beaten those bastards into the ground!" She spat to herself, gripping her satchel strap tighter and running a hand through her hair, "Your Nana would be mortified!" She slowed to a stop and took a deep inhale; letting the cold, frosty air fill her lungs. Upon exhaling she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings; the area she was in was still grimy – snow mixed with grit mixed with decomp but now there were a few neon lights scattered about and more concentrated in the distance. She felt like she had gone back in time, compared to where that preppy school had been these buildings were practically ancient. The train rails still loomed above and new modern cars were parked up on the dirty sidewalks but the buildings had stayed the same.

"Must be in Old Town…" she mumbled, her previous incident escaping her mind, "… need to find somewhere to stay" A mission now at hand she began her pace down the side walk, the crowds would hopefully keep attention away.

She found a cheap motel; it was pretty much a hostel as people looked like they had been staying there for years. Only two rooms were left and she took the one furthest away from the strip. The fat man at the check in gave her a once over, probably looking for puncture marks of a needle or bruises of an abusive father; he couldn't have stank more of weed if he tried.

"How long you intendin' to stay?" He questioned, words slurring,

"How long am I allowed?"

"If you don't know you pay by the day, you got the creds now?" He shot her a suspicious look, without a reply she dropped a couple of credits onto the grubby desk.

"Funky…" He reached over to the key board, his thick fingers hooking around the little key, "You don't take the key out the building and if I'm not here then it'll be Angela who sees you in and out"

"Sure…" Phoebe replied, taking the key and pocketing it; the man directed her towards a steep set of stairs and she took her leave. Her heavy satchel bag jostled against her thigh as she hopped up the steep stairs; the height of the steps awkwardly in between a stride and a skip. Her room was on the third floor and as she got onto the corridor she could smell over boiled coffee and burnt toast and the muffled sound of a television emanated from the closest door. Her eyes followed the linoleum and ended at her door, a window ajar at the end wall brought in the cold and she quickly let herself in. A click of a switch and the room glowed with a yellow light; the room combined a small kitchen area and bedroom with a small wet room off to the side. The linoleum continued into the room and Phoebe's boots squeaked as she made her way past the make-shift kitchen and to the bed. She lazily dropped her satchel on the bed and followed suit her blonde hair draping over her face as she flopped onto the green comforter. Her mind drifted as her feet and fingers thawed; she wasn't used to this sort of cold and she'd been ill dressed as soon as she'd stepped off the train. As she contemplated acquiring a fur coat the chirping of her phone vibrated against her side, with a lazy movement she answered,

"Nana" her eyes followed the stucco on the ceiling,

"Hello sweetheart; just checking in" A warm, husky voice crackled from the phone, a silence followed briefly and a flicking of pages, "Our client requires an update" Phoebe sighed,

"It's been completed" She fingered the buttons of her coat,

"Good" Phoebe could feel the grin of satisfaction from her Nana, "She will be so happy, you do wonderful things Phoebe remember that. All these women, you bring them peace"

"I know Nana, I think the cold's just getting to me" Her tone was lax as the warmth of the room cuddled her frame,

"You're stronger than that" The sternness returned, "Did you manage to get information on the new target" _Back to business _Phoebe thought,

"Yes, the mark is a teacher at the school; he's part of the genetic engineering facilities I can get him there tonight"

"Phoebe – remember to be cautious – you aren't the only one that prowls at night… not in Gotham" Her Nana's tone became cold, "If he's still out there as the papers state you do not give him a second chance; remember what I told you"

"Rip his wings off…"

Terry rubbed at his arms to keep warm; the dark had come quicker than he'd been ready for and so had the chill of the night. With a quickened pace he caught up with Ace who sat waiting on the porch of Wayne Manor,

"Not like the cold either, huh Ace?" He grinned at the black dog and unlocked the door for the shivering mutt; Ace bounded through the main hall and down the passage to the Bat Cave, yipping as he went. With the door locked Terry followed down making sure to close it on the way – he was getting as paranoid as the old man. The Bat Cave welcomed Terry with its familiar drips of moisture, cold cloying touch and electronic buzzing,

"Bruce?" Terry's voice bounced off the walls, he hoped that old man hadn't changed his mind and wandered back into the house,

"I'm at the monitor" Bruce's voice emanated from the gloom - _of course he's at the monitor – _Terry thought, he was more there than anywhere else these days. He picked up his pace, moving past the cabinets of memorabilia and to the juggernaut monitor that Bruce had sat himself in front of.

"So, are you going to enlighten me?" Terry propped himself against the leather chair inhabiting Bruce, when Terry glanced he could see the dark hollows of Bruce's eyes looking even more bruised; he would be an idiot not to know something was bothering the veteran vigilante,

"… yes" Bruce pondered, his hands forming a plinth to rest his chin, "The police found the body of Billy Vogel last night, bound and decapitated in an abandoned apartment" Terry hid the morbid surge of adrenaline that surfaced from the information,

"Vogel?" Terry watched as photos of the grim apartment opened up on the screen along with the dull white noise from a police radio, the room was sparse and appeared as if no one had lived there in years. The furniture was gone except for the desk chair that housed the unfortunate corpse of Billy Vogel. How Bruce had got his hands on these photos was beyond him, some questions he had decided to put aside.

"His father Lance Vogel owns several night clubs in Gotham. As far as the police are concerned the father should have been in that chair not the son" Bruce leaned back in the leather chair a weary hand patting against Ace's neck as the dog sat obediently next to his master,

"You think it's a threat gone wrong?" Terry pondered, "Blackmail?" Bruce shook his head,

"That's what I thought first, but look" With a quick click the screen changed to a closer inspection of the severed neck, "The cut is clean and precise, the intention was to kill and not to injure… the body doesn't have defensive wounds or signs of torture. Billy Vogel was brought to that room to be killed, but as of yet no one knows why".

"You sending me out?..." Terry felt a sickly twist in his stomach; the duality of a new hunt against the repairing of his and Dana's relationship was a place he didn't wish to be.

"Not tonight…" Bruce grunted, Terry hid a sigh of relief, "I'm going to look at this further; but keep your phone close the killer may be out again tonight"

"Got it, you need me for anything else?" Terry nibbled at his lip, feeling that the space of thought was purposefully to long,

"No, but I'll be in contact if anything changes" He waited a short moment in case Bruce graced him with any more information; the old man had a penchant for dramatic pauses. Deciding the moment had passed Terry said his goodbyes and headed out and as the dust of the aging house filled his lungs once again his thoughts turned back to Dana. Max had mentioned the usual group meeting up for drinks; hopefully Dana wouldn't give him the cold shoulder for his hesitancy earlier – he wanted to make this work. He flung his bag around from his back and delved his hand in for his phone intending to ring Max but caught onto his well-worn bat suit; reluctantly he gazed down at the midnight black material that held both triumph and pain. He remembered his first night as the Batman; it had been exhilarating and terrifying and he'd never felt closer to his father than he had in that moment. From then on whenever he wore the suit he knew he could do the impossible and he could make his mark, just like Bruce had years before. He cared for Dana, but he had also found a cause; one which he could do good things with, he no longer felt like he was falling into the same pit that of those he fought. He worried at his lip, if anything meeting his friends would show Dana that he was not becoming the recluse that he was sure she considered him, he stuff his suit back to the bottom of his bag and brought out his cell phone.

"Hey" Max's voice sounded down the phone along with a cacophony of gun shots and electric music,

"Max are you still at the arcade?" It had been nearly three hours since they'd parted ways – how many spare credits did she have?

"Yeah, a guy challenged me to a shoot off on one of the two player games and I won sooo spending my hard earned winnings" she chuckled, "You finished?"

"Just, are you still meeting the guys tonight?" Terry swung his bag back over his arm and made his way down from Wayne Manor.

"Far as I know… I'll meet you outside the school in about an hour okay?" Terry could hear the sound of something being killed in the background and couldn't help being impressed by Max's ability to kill and talk casually on the phone at the same time.

"Might be a little longer than that, I think I just missed the half 6" he absently kicked a stone further down the inclining street letting it skip into the bushes off the walkway,

"More play time for me" Max replied, he could imagine the wide grin on her face, "I'll see you at the steps then"

"See you later Max" Terry smiled, letting the pink haired nerd continue on with her gaming. As he neared the train station the skies let forth a soft falling flurry of snow, Terry raised his eyes up to the glittering sky, the yellow grey clouds of the night making everything seem lucid and not quite real. He hoped that tonight the filth of Gotham would allow him a pardon.


End file.
